We are so excited to kick off this next project! For some reason, bedrooms are so fun for us to design and work on. The last time we worked on a bedroom for our son Tristan, it was his nursery in our previous home, so this project is giving us all the feels as we design a pre-teen bedroom that can grow with him as he gets older.
Since we moved into the Arched Manor 5 years ago, we have not done any work or purchased any furniture for our kids rooms…and the time has come. They have started to outgrow some of their nursery furniture and also, to be honest, legos are taking over! They need more shelf space to display their things but also it couldn’t hurt to add more closed storage since they are also mini hoarders.
One thing that we do when designing kids bedrooms is to design traditional bedroom elements like an accent wall (and in this case also a desk) that can grow with them. Then we use the color and decor to express their interests and personality. The one thing Tristan said he wanted in his bedroom was for there to be ‘space stuff’ and places to display his legos. Say no more, Tristan! We are going to use fun artwork and space decor that we have acquired from a variety of places and will also make sure that there is open shelving to display both the space decor and his legos.
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The Design
So let’s talk about what we have planned for this bedroom.
Raised Panel Accent Wall
We will be doing the same kind of trim that we added to our breakfast room, but in a different pattern. We love the dimension it adds and think it is going to make the best accent wall for the bedroom!
The pro is we just did it and the steps to construct it are easy and fresh in our mind. The con and something to consider is that it takes more material than doing something like traditional picture frame molding and therefore is more expensive to do.
Built-in Desk
We are SUPER excited for this build. It will not be as fancy or elaborate as the built-ins that we constructed for John’s office but will be a perfect addition to the room and to grow with Tristan.
To be honest, we were originally going to purchase a desk and floating shelves but we couldn’t quite find anything that fit the correct scale for the wall it was going to go on. The other thing was, none of the desks we found had a good amount of closed storage for our little collector. So why not build one?
We are going to be using unfinished stock cabinets, a butcher block and a few additional trim pieces from Home Depot to construct it. The tricky part will be the electrical to make sure there is proper lighting and also so that he can plug in any electronics.
Make sure to follow along on Instagram as we build it!
Paint
Since our son Tristan is really into “space stuff” we want to incorporate a darker paint color. Still wanting to keep this room somewhat light and airy, we are only going to be using the dark paint on the accent wall and the built-in desk instead of color drenching the whole space. We are going to put up some Samplize samples to make sure, but are leaning towards ‘Iron Ore’ by Sherwin Williams which we also used in our client’s Theater Makeover. We will order a few white and super light gray samples as a complementary color for the other walls.
Furniture and Decor
We will actually be getting all new furniture for this space and are pretty excited about it! His current dresser was from his nursery and unfortunately is too small to fit his clothing. Also, the wall it is currently up against is better suited for a taller dresser so that is what we will be purchasing!
The bed is the only thing that could stay, however, as one of the perks of our job, we have the opportunity to work with a brand, Castlery, who will be gifting us a new bed and nightstands for his room. We have admired their furniture for awhile now and are pretty pumped for this new bed because, IT HAS STORAGE BUILT IN!! It is hard to tell from the renders, but trust us. Can’t wait to share it in the finished space! As for the nightstands, this is a must because the one nightstand our son currently has is on its last leg and will probably wobble and break in the very near future.
For decor, we will be getting a new rug, ceiling fan, hanging shelf and more! Stay tuned on what these will all be.
Thank you!
Before we begin this next project we just wanted to say thank you for the continued support, encouragement and for all the enthusiasm you give us for every one of these makeovers. It is what keeps us going, motivates us and we are forever grateful.
